How to stay warm in the black
by Jadzia Bear
Summary: Revised for your reading pleasure! "Kaylee stood there looking like a ruffled, forlorn puppy..."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Thank you so much for all the reviews! I've tried to keep the parts you liked, while improving on the rest.

**Disclaimer: **Joss is boss, these characters are not mine.

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Thermostat was broke. Kaylee'd tried everything to fix it, but the only thing that would do the job was a part they didn't have. They were en route to Persephone to pick it up, but they were still four days away, and in the mean time the crew had to put up with temps a good fifteen degrees cooler than normal. Mal could conjure plenty of worse scenarios, but it was still a mite less than comfortable.

Jayne's beanie was now a permanent fixture on his head and everyone's new favourite spot was in front of the exhaust fan that pumped out warm, slightly fumy air in one corner of the cargo bay. They took their reconstituted protein hot in one form or another, and in the evenings they all gathered in the lounge with their beverage of choice to ward off the cold. River and Shepherd Book could be found cradling their steaming cups of tea, while Jayne nursed a mug of moonshine. The rest of them chose one or the other, or both, in their attempts to warm themselves before bed. Falling asleep was that much harder in the cold.

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Mal had finally dropped off when a knock on the door woke him. He groaned.

_"What!"_

He heard the hatch open and watched with a furrowed brow as a blanket fell down from above. It was followed quickly by Kaylee. She climbed down the ladder, then snatched the blanket back up and wrapped it around herself. She stood there looking like a ruffled, forlorn puppy. Her hair was a little messed up from her pillow and her eyes were big and sad. Well, maybe not sad, more like tired, but there was something else he could see in them – defeat? She was shivering a little as she stood there with Jayne's fluffy orange socks peeking out from underneath the hem of the blanket.

"What is it, Kaylee?" Mal asked, half sitting up and rubbing one eye.

"Can't sleep, Cap'n, too cold," she murmured as she drifted closer to the bed. "Thought maybe I could bunk with you. You know, conserve heat 'n all that?"

"Thought maybe you could what with who?"

"Can't get warm on my own," she insisted.

Mal knew as soon as she'd asked the question that he should say no for a million different reasons, main one being, well, she was a very sweet girl who didn't deserve to be taken advantage of by a lecherous _hundan_ like his own self, and not taking that advantage would require considerable effort on his part.

"_Meimei_, I really don't think―"

"And I'd feel strange askin' the Shepherd," she continued. "And Simon..." She heaved a sigh and left the sentence hanging. Mal didn't bother to ask about the doctor's latest faux pas. "Guess I could ask 'Nara. Lots a' space in her bed, and the sheets would feel nice, all satiny like there are. But it's kinda distractin', you know? Thinkin' of all the men that've been in it?"

Mal squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his face. How the hell did they get onto this topic?

"Guess I could go ask Jayne, he's prob'ly real warm. You know, with all that hair on 'im," she said, as she turned to go.

"Kaylee ― stop, just..."

As much as it was a bad idea to let her stay, letting her go to Jayne's bunk was even worse. He knew for a fact Jayne wouldn't be able to keep his hands off her or his manparts for more than thirty seconds if she did.

"_Tama de!" _he groaned, and moved over to make room for her. "But you snore, I dump you out onto that cold metal floor, y' hear?"

"Thanks, Cap'n," she said with a tired smile.

She threw her blanket over the bed and crawled in under the covers. She lay facing away from him, pressing her back against his side. Mal lay there stiffly, not quite sure what to do with his arms and suddenly feeling far from sleep.

After a time, Kaylee sighed.

"Shoulda been able to fix it," she murmured to the pillow as she lay there shivering. "_Serenity_ don't like runnin' so cold, ain't no good for her movin' parts, and now everyone's gotta freeze their butts off for another three days just 'cause I -"

"Hey, enough a' that," Mal interrupted as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Did everything you could. Ain't no fault a' yours she can't be repaired with what we got. Won't be long 'til we get to Persephone and we'll get our girl all fixed up."

Kaylee took a deep breath and nodded, but she was still shivering. Mal rolled his eyes to the ceiling and thought briefly of the special hell, then wrapped his arm around the cold, sleepy, troubled girl. He pressed the length of himself against her delicate frame, trying to transfer as much warmth as possible.

He should've guessed it was eating away at her, not being able to fix the ship. "And don't you worry 'bout everyone else, they'll be fine. Could use some toughening up, been getting too soft of late as it is. No more blaming yourself, _dong ma_? That's an order."

"Aye, Cap'n," she murmured sleepily. Her shivering soon came under control and it wasn't long before Mal heard her breathing change and knew she was asleep, but it took him a lot longer to drop off. It had been an age since he'd shared his bed with a woman, and he couldn't help but be acutely aware of the soft, feminine form next to him ― the curve of her hip beneath his arm, the scent of her hair. But when he finally did, it was the best night's sleep he'd had in a good long while.

The next night Kaylee came to him again and sought permission to share his bunk by way of raised eyebrows and a hopeful smile. Mal glared at her, then scooted over. She crawled in with a cheerful grin and gave him a peck on the cheek to show her gratitude.

Mal woke slowly the next morning in a fuzzy, contented haze. He hugged Kaylee's cosy body close as..._he what?_ Mal's eyes flew open to find his arms wrapped around the sleeping mechanic, her head nestled in under his chin. He quickly extricated himself from the embrace and turned his back on her comforting warmth. _She ain't your little missus, Reynolds, she's crew, _he growled at himself.

On the third night she just climbed right into his bed without asking, and Mal felt a twinge of concern at how comfortable she'd become with the arrangement. But they would be landing on Persephone tomorrow, so after tonight there would no longer be a need for her to spend the nights curled up in his bunk ― which was a good thing, he told himself, as he drifted off to sleep.

_Kaylee gave him a doe-eyed smile as he ran his fingers through her soft locks. He laid his lips upon hers and the kiss fell seamlessly into another, and then another, as their hands roamed each others' bodies. Then his tongue followed the same course as his fingers. He mapped her honeyed flesh from head to toe with moist kisses, revelling in the taste of her skin..._

That morning, as Mal's consciousness dragged itself into the waking world, dream images intermingled with reality and he had a moment of panic, thinking perhaps he and Kaylee really had...

But as the moments passed, the real world solidified around him and the images took on the insubstantial quality dreams gain upon waking. This was of little comfort though, as Mal realised he was still in a very compromising situation.

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**Chinese translations**

_Hundan _- bastard

_Meimei_ – little sister

_Tama de_ – Fuck me blind

_Dong ma_ - understand


	2. Chapter 2

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Kaylee was lying with her back towards him, their bodies pressed against each other and the hot, firm evidence of the nature of his dream wedged tightly between them. His first instinct was to tear himself away from her and leap out of the bed, but fortunately his soldierly stealth kicked in before he could. The only way he was getting out of this with honour and dignity, assuming she was still asleep and had no idea of his...condition, was to extricate himself as carefully as possible so as not to risk waking her. He eased his hips backwards, then drew his arm out from under her as gently as he could, praying all the while that she wouldn't wake up (not that praying ever helped him much before, but it seemed the thing to do).

Once he was standing next to the bed and Kaylee still hadn't stirred, he allowed himself a sigh of relief. He shot a brief scowl in the direction of the manparts that had betrayed him, then grabbed a towel and slunk off to the shower.

At breakfast Mal eyed Kaylee covertly over his bowl of steaming, mushy protein (kind of like porridge, but really not), looking for a sign that she was aware of his indiscretion. He could detect no signs of uncomfortableness from her, nor any traces of an 'I know something I shouldn't' smirk, so he figured his secret was safe. He was just grateful there was no chance of it happening again.

Not long after midday they set down on Persephone. Every member of the crew burst out of the chilly cargo hold into the dry, dusty heat of Eavesdown Docks ― weather they would likely have cursed on any other day. Within a few hours of Mal doing the deal for the part they needed, Kaylee had _Serenity's_ insides warming up nicely. Wash gratefully shed his cable-knit sweater, Jayne put away his beanie and Kaylee returned his fluffy socks.

They all sat down to a hearty dinner supplemented with fresh produce Wash and Zoe had picked up from the markets, then each crew member turned in for the night. Mal headed to his bunk alone, but as he prepared for bed his mind strayed to thoughts of his little mechanic. He knew she was only metres away from him, in her own bunk on the other side of the wall. At every sound, he turned to see if it was his hatch door opening. Then every time he realised he was looking for her, waiting for her, he chastised himself. _She ain't coming, put it out of your gorram head._

But his bed was entirely too empty without her now. He lay there, hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep.

It was some time after midnight when Mal heard the hatch to his bunk creak quietly open. He sat up quickly ― could be an intruder, he told himself ― and watched as Kaylee descended the ladder. Unlike the last few nights, when she had been bundled in her warmest clothes, tonight she was in her normal sleeping gear ― little faded pink shorts and a white singlet. The threadbare top left little to the imagination as to what it contained. His heart rate hitched up a few notches as he wrenched his eyes back to her face.

"Hey, Cap'n," she called softly. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head, not quite trusting himself to speak.

"I was havin' trouble sleepin' too. Guess I got used to havin' someone next to me, you know?"

She crept closer to the bed and gestured to the space beside him. "Do you think maybe I could...?"

He opened his mouth in anticipation of some articulate and compelling excuse as to why she couldn't, but his brain never delivered the goods. Either she took his silence as consent, or she was never really asking in the first place, because she went ahead and slipped in beside him.

He was sleeping in only his shorts, so this time there was a whole lot more flesh on flesh than there had been previously. His breath quickened. She ducked in under his arm, using his shoulder as a pillow, and rested a hand on his chest. Mal fancied he could feel her heart thumping in the place where her soft breasts pressed against his side. She began to trace a pattern on the bare skin of his chest with her fingertips. He had to put a stop to this.

"Kaylee, girl―" he began, trying to frame a coherent argument as to why they shouldn't be more than just captain and mechanic, although strangely, all those very good reasons were quickly slipping out of reach. What was it he always said about ship-board romances?

"Save it, Cap'n," she interrupted, "'Cause I'm pretty sure you want this as much as I do," she said with a knowing grin.

_Gorramit!_ Mal groaned inwardly. So she _had_ been awake this morning. But his embarrassment was quickly pushed aside by disbelief as she shifted herself to sit on top of him.

"An' I know you think it's your job to protect me and take care a' me and the like," she continued, "But, well, this is just another way a' doin' that."

Mal made one last desperate attempt. "But, I...you...complicated ―"

"Seems real simple to me, Cap'n," she said, managing to bite her lower lip and smile at the same time. _Renci de Fozu_, if she wasn't the cutest thing in the 'verse.

Mal puffed out a sigh of defeat that made her grin in triumph. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on her captain's lips. Mal gave himself up to her tender advances, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close as he kissed her back.

It was a shiny thing to have someone to keep you warm in the black.

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**Chinese translations**

_Renci de Fozu – _Merciful Buddha

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**A/N:** Reviews and constructive criticism are very gratefully received!


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